Certain beverage preparation machines use capsules containing ingredients to be extracted or to be dissolved; for other machines, the ingredients are stored and dosed automatically in the machine or else are added at the time of preparation of the drink.
Most beverage machines possess within a housing: filling means that include a pump for liquid, usually water, which pumps the liquid from a source of water that is cold or indeed heated through heating means, such as a heating resistor, a thermoblock or the like, a brewing unit in which an ingredient is brewed with water or a mixing unit in which ingredients are mixed together, and a beverage outlet for dispensing the prepared beverage. Typically, the beverage outlet is located above a grid for supporting a cup or other recipient under the outlet and for the passage of possible drips from the beverage outlet or other spills into a collector tray located under the grid.
For example, EP 1 440 639 discloses a beverage machine comprising a receptacle stand having a hollow interior forming a drip tray. An upper surface of the receptacle stand is provided with a grill on which the receptacle is positioned. The drip tray is removable from the housing to ease emptying of the collected water.
Drip tray devices with cup supports are well known in the art. There are also such devices that are further arranged for allowing the adjustment of the vertical position under the beverage outlet of cups of different sizes. For instance, EP 0 549 887 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,455 disclose devices with an adjustable cup support for small and large receptacles. Further exemplary cup supports are disclosed in DE9109023, DE29810291 and EP2342997.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,692 discloses a beverage vending machine having a cup station with an upper beverage outlet and a bottom drain-gate on a drip collector. Above the drain gate, the cup station has a retractable support member for positioning small cups under the beverage outlet. This cup station is formed as a grid for allowing the passage of drips down to the drain-gate.
EP 1 731 065 discloses a beverage machine that has a drip tray device located under a beverage outlet. This device has a first support grid for a first beverage recipient covering a drip tray or collection tank. The first support grid is removable form the drip tray to give access to a second support thereunder for supporting a larger cup under the outlet. Moreover, the drip tray supports a receptacle for used capsules and can be removed en bloc with the cup support arrangement from the machine for emptying the capsule receptacle and the drip tray.
EP 1 867 260 discloses a drip tray with a cup support that is movably mounted, generally at mid-height, onto a beverage machine. The cup support has an operative horizontally extending position for positioning a small cup under the machine's beverage outlet and can be pivoted upwards against the machine's main body or otherwise moved so as to give sufficient space for positioning a large cup under the beverage outlet on a support surface located below this above movable cup support. Cup supports of the same are disclosed in WO2011/154492 and PCT/EP11/061272.
Likewise, WO 2009/074557 discloses a beverage preparation machine with a cup support and drip tray device located under a machine's beverage outlet. The device has a drip tray arrangement for evacuating liquid and for supporting a cup below the outlet and has an extension for hygienically supporting cups upon use.
In WO 2009/074559, a similar beverage machine is disclosed in which the cup support and drip tray device has a reservoir for collecting ingredient capsules upon use. The device includes an arrangement for unjamming the system when the reservoir is so over-filled with used capsules as to interfere with the structure of the machine and to prevent removal of the device with the over-filled receptacle.
WO 2010/031665 discloses a beverage preparation machine with a separable semi-cocoon-shaped device for receiving a cup support device of complementary shape, the cup support device having a liquid permeable surface and a liquid collector therebelow. The cup support device has a connector for disconnectably connecting it at two different heights in the receiving device above an inner bottom face of the receiving device, the inner bottom face extending under substantially the entire cup support device. The presence of the cup support device displaceable vertically in the receiving device prevents a premature soling of the inner surfaces of the receiving device. It follows that the receiving device is not designed or intended for use without the cup support device. The receiving device can be removed from the machine and the cup support device can be removed from the receiving device for servicing, e.g. cleaning, and/or for an exchange of these devices by similar devices of different designs.